The art of managing cut flowers so as to extend the period in which they appear fresh and natural includes so managing the cut portion of the stem that water and other materials may pass freely up the stem, entering the flower at the point at which the stem has been cut. It is known in the art that it is beneficial to recut the stems of cut flowers before placing them in water for holding.
Water containing a variety of dissolved substances flows up the stem of a flower before it is cut, and sugars and other materials move up the stem to the leaves and other sites of photosynthesis from the roots. The cells through which water is transmitted have water-transmitting end plates through which the water and various dissolved substances can pass with relative freedom.
When a flower stem is cut from the plant and exposed to the air, water continues to rise in the stem. As a consequence, a small bubble of air is drawn upward into the water-transmitting cells at the point of the cut. The bubble is held by the cell end plates and blocks the transmission of water up the stem when the cut flower is put into water. The sugars and other materials moving from the leaves toward the roots also continue to descend. They can be exuded on to the cut surface of the stem and be drawn back up into the water-conducting cells where they subsequently can crystalize and further block the flow of water. This effect can be aggravated by the prior presence of air in those cells. Thus, the flow of water important to maintaining the freshness of a flower may be interferred with by air or by sugar blockage or both.
It is known in the art that, in order to reduce the air and sugar blockage referred to above, it is beneficial to recut the stems of cut flowers to remove that part of the stem containing blocked cells. In order to avoid the formation of a new air bubble in the stem, it is known in the art to make the new cut while the end of the stem is immersed in water. Conventionally, florists use knives or shears to make the new cut while the stems are held under water contained in a pan or sink or under a stream of flowing water. The florist generally must hold the flowers in one hand and the cutting implement in the other, limiting the ease with which the flowers can be managed. The use of shears or a knife also generally requires the florist to immerse the hand holding the cutting implement. When the cutting operation is being undertaken in a cold room, significant operator discomfort may result. Furthermore, flower stems must be cut relatively few at a time when either a knife or shears are used, a special disadvantage when large numbers of flowers are being dealt with at a central distribution point or as part of the mass production of flower arrangements.
The prior art is cognizant of the use of hydraulic or pneumatic pistons to drive cutting knives in non-analogous applications. Examples include Cockerill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,177,584, Mattera, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,334, and Green, U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,780. McRee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,056,267, shows a large-scale hydraulically driven cutter designed to be threaded over the upper ends of piles that have been driven into a river bottom, whereupon the cutter is lowered to the bottom of the water and hydraulically actuated to shear the pile at the mud line.
The prior art is also cognizant of air or hydraulically driven cutting implements for pruning or harvesting. Examples include Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 706,481, Harries, U.S. Pat. No. 3,041,725, and McCutcheon, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,509,706. Lewis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,748, shows a hydraulically driven pruning device employing pressurized water as the hydraulic fluid.
The prior art makes no provision for a hydraulically driven flower stem cutter adapted for stationary operation while submersed beneath water, with the provision of guides and shields to ensure the safety of the operator and the convenient placement of an entire bundle of stems into the cutter. Furthermore, the prior art makes no provision for the remote operation of a stationary underwater cutter in such a manner that a single operator may have both hands available to him to guide and otherwise manipulate the stems to be cut. Nor does the prior art show a piston-driven cutter adapted to be used under water in an environment that must be kept free of grease and oil.